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Two players die at international chess event

Two players died at the 41st Chess Olympiad in Tromsoe. Photo: Reuters

STOCKHOLM: A major international chess tournament in northern Norway ended on a grim note, with one player dying in the middle of a game and another found dead in a hotel room, organisers said.

Kurt Meier, a 67-year-old member of the Seychelles team, collapsed and died during the final round game against Rwanda on Thursday of the two-week Chess Olympiad in Tromsoe, tournament spokesman Jarle Heitmann said on Friday.

Another player, from Uzbekistan, was found dead in a hotel room later on Thursday, Heitmann said.

He said both died of natural causes, while Tromsoe police said on Twitter there was "no crime" suspected in either case.

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Heitmann said there was a brief moment of panic as emergency workers rushed to attend to the Seychelles player, as some participants apparently mistook their defibrillator for a gun and fled toward the exits.